Discuss the art of characterisation in The Playboy of the Western World
J.M. Synge wrote The Playboy of the Western World in 1907, to be produced at Ireland's Abbey Theatre, which he had helped to form. The art of characterisation in The Playboy of the Western World , Though it is today one of the English-language drama's most widely-anthologized works, it was hardly a success at the time.
Art of characterisation in The Playboy of the Western World In
fact, the play was in Synge's day a marked failure: the Dublin audience of 1909
jeered and disrupted each performance of the play’s one-week run at the newly
minted Abbey Theatre. Indeed, for that week, the Abbey became the place for
nationalistic, God-fearing Irishmen to display their outrage and indignation
over Synge's unsavory portrait of rural Irish life and values. To top it all
off, the play received almost uniformly terrible reviews in the papers.
Yet the details of the play's plot, which centers on a man’s
personal transformation and public exaltation through his increasingly fictive
account of patricide, were arguably less offensive to the audience than the
play's ambiguous tone was. Though seemingly grounded in realism, the work's
premise is audacious and outlandish, and it ends in a vicious climax and ironic
lamentation. The audience simply had no idea how to classify and interpret what
it was watching. To understand what is so enduring about the play, it is useful
to consider what confused its contemporary audiences.
The art of characterisation in The Playboy of the
Western World
Discuss the art of characterisation in The Playboy of the Western World The entire play is set in a public house (or pub) "on
the wild coast of Mayo," outside a village in Northwestern Ireland, circa
1907 (113). Pegeen Mike,
daughter to the alehouse owner, sits alone in the pub, writing a letter to
order supplies for her upcoming wedding to Shawn Keogh.
Her father, Michael James,
has left her for the evening, while he attends a wake.
Shawn Keogh
enters, remarking upon the frightening darkness outside. Pegeen asks him to
stay with her, since the night makes her nervous as well. Shawn refuses,
claiming it would be improper for him to be alone with her until they are wed.
However, he offers to send the Widow Quin to
stay with her. Discuss the art of characterisation in The Playboy of the
Western World , Shawn then reveals that he heard a man outside, wailing from a
ditch.
Michael James
enters, along with his friends Philly and Jimmy.
They are drunk, and have not yet left for the wake. Michael James demands Shawn
stay with Pegeen, but Shawn refuses, fearing the disapproval of the parish
priest. Shawn flees before the men can trap him, but quickly returns to tell
them that he saw a face looking up out of the ditch.
Christy
The art of characterisation in The Playboy of the Western
World Full name Christopher Mahon, Christy is an attractive man in his 20's. He
enters the play ragged from being on the run, and reveals he has murdered his
father, Old Mahon. He is quickly embraced as a hero by the residents of County
Mayo, especially Pegeen Mike, to whom he is briefly engaged. The audience later
learns that Christy was always a submissive, cowardly boy before striking his
father, but he comes to embody the hero that he claims to be as the play
progresses.
Old Mahon
Christy's father, called Old Mahon, is a mean drunk who
terrorized Christy throughout the boy's childhood. He enters the play with a
bleeding, bandaged head, and veers largely between being a bumbler and an angry
man.
Michael James
Michael James Flaherty is father to Pegeen Mike, and the
owner of the pub where the play is set. Though he makes overtures towards being
respectable and moral, he is actually a heavy drinker who compromises his
principles without much second thought.
Honor Blake
Honor is a giggling teenage girl, and a resident of County
Mayo. She is quite smitten with Christy.
Pegeen Mike
Full name Margaret Flaherty, Pegeen Mike is the 20-year-old
daughter of Michael James. She is engaged to Shawn Keogh at the top of the
play, and later engaged to Christy for a short period. Though she in many ways
transcends the limitations of County Mayo through her shrewd intelligence,
feisty personality, and notable beauty, she nevertheless proves incapable of
leaving Mayo behind when she repudiates Christy.
Widow Quin
A smart, scheming 30-year-old widow of County Mayo, Widow
Quin has a pronounced dislike for Pegeen Mike. She is a shrewd woman who
navigates deals with several different characters as she pursues Christy for
herself. The art of characterisation in The Playboy of the Western World , She
is also a role model to the younger woman, like Honor Blake, Sarah Tansey, and
Susan Brady.
Shawn
A resident of County Mayo, Shawn Keogh is a fat and fair
young man in his early 20s. Though engaged to Pegeen Mike at the beginning of
the play, he repulses her through his pronounced cowardice and whiny submission
to the church. He is also cousin to Widow Quin.
Philly - Philly Cullen is a local farmer of County Mayo, and friend to Michael Flaherty and Jimmy Farrell.
Jimmy- Jimmy Farrell is a local farmer of County Mayo, and friend to Michael Flaherty and Philly Cullen.
Sara- Sara Tansey is a village girl, and sidekick to Widow Quin.
Susan- Susan Brady is a village girl, and sidekick to Widow Quin.
A Bellman- Though the bellman is mentioned in Synge's character list, he has only a tiny, non-speaking role in the play.
Some Peasants- Synge lists "Some Peasants" in his character list, though they have no scripted lines. However, they do provide important motivation for Christy in the final Act, as they celebrate and then mock him.
Nelly- Nelly is a village girl, and sidekick to Widow Quin.
0 comments:
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.